On 26 March 2018, the sixth concert of the traditional Nine Magical Notes series took place at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's headquarters. Young virtuoso pianists from Lahore in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Shahbaz Abdullah and Harun Shad, shared their live musical talent during the night of chamber music held as part of the SCO Is Our Common Home project.
Harun and Shahbaz, famous in Pakistan, took the guests to the sublime and heavenly world of profound European as well as traditional Pakistani and Chinese music. The duo performed magnificent classical masterpieces by the "patriarchs" of music: The Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Minuet in G Major by Bach and Für Elise by Beethoven among other works.
In his opening remarks, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov recalled that "60 years ago, exactly on these spring days, Moscow hosted the Tchaikovsky International Contest. In the six decades, the contest for academic musicians discovered many gifted and talented musicians. The entire world knows their names. Their music and unique performing style stir hearts today, too, fill them with kindness and light, and give them happy moments of joy," Rashid Alimov noted. He also added that "The Nine Magical Notes series held at the SCO headquarters does not claim global fame. We have another thing in common with the Tchaikovsky contest: we do not only discover new names and popularise the piano music played by pianists from the SCO countries; what is more important is that we contribute to promoting and expanding the cultural dialogue in the SCO. Music unites people, which means it brings the world together," the SCO secretary-general said.
After sincerely thanking the organisers of the musical night, Pakistani Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to China Masood Khalid noted that "artistic beauty has a lot of aspects and manifestations. It is possible that music, being profound and emotionally intense, is the most natural reflection of art. Music does not know geographic and political borders. Time cannot affect it, because music is born in the secret corners of the inner world. It is something celestial and heavenly." Ambassador Masood Khalid added: "Pakistan is the birthplace of an ancient civilisation. Harmony, coexistence of cultures and acknowledgment of diversity are the main traits of our civilisation. Nothing can express these tender human emotions better than music. The Pakistani music acquired its present forms and image by preserving its ingenuity and, at the same time, absorbing foreign influence for many centuries. I am sure that music can serve as a bridge between regions and civilisations," the ambassador said.
An exhibition of photographs, pictures and decorative objects dedicated to the rich Pakistani culture opened as part of the programme.
The event was attended by ambassadors of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Turkmenistan, diplomats from India, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus and Cambodia as well as representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, senior diplomats in Beijing, journalists, SCO Secretariat officials and other music connoisseurs.
The chamber music nights at the SCO headquarters will continue. There are plans to hold an exhibition concert of the Eurasian G8 states in June 2018, which will conclude the musical series.